For many Filipinos, retirement still feels like a distant idea tied to a modest savings account and the hope of finally slowing down. But new findings from InLife, the country’s first and largest Filipino life insurer, suggest that preparing for life after work is far more layered and uncertain than most people imagine.
InLife recently introduced its InLife Retirement Index, a more holistic way of measuring how ready Filipinos are for their later years. The result was a sobering 47 out of 100, revealing that retirement readiness is not just about putting money away, but about building a life that can remain secure, healthy, and meaningful over time.
The study shows that retirement preparedness is shaped by six interconnected realities: life stage, personal finances, health, pension participation, retirement sentiment, and social support. Together, these paint a fuller picture of what it really takes to step into retirement with confidence.
One of the clearest insights is the generational divide. Generation X emerged as the most prepared, posting a score of 54. This is largely tied to where they are in life: more established in their careers, earning more steadily, and often carrying family responsibilities that naturally push financial planning higher on their list of priorities.
In the other end, Gen Z scored the lowest at 36. While younger Filipinos, especially Gen Z and younger millennials, tend to have a clearer vision of the future they want, that vision has not yet fully translated into concrete retirement plans.
The research also reflects a gender gap in preparedness. Men scored 49, while women came in at 45, a difference linked largely to stronger participation among men in formal employment and investment activities. Health also proved to be a major factor. Those who ranked higher on the index were more prepared for medical emergencies, which can quickly eat into long-term savings. As chronic conditions become more common with age, the study underscores the importance of setting aside a separate fund specifically for health-related needs.
Another area of concern is the growing number of Filipinos in informal or gig-based work. Without access to state-backed pension systems such as SSS or GSIS, many remain especially vulnerable, with fewer built-in safety nets to rely on later in life.
For Abigail A. Magtibay, InLife’s strategic marketing and brand experience head, one of the most important takeaways from the study is that retirement should not be seen as a financial finish line. It is also about health, emotional wellbeing, and the support systems people build around themselves. She emphasized the need for more open family conversations around retirement, noting that many interviewees could not say exactly when they expected to retire because their plans remained tied to supporting loved ones for as long as needed. Her message was simple: Talk to your family about the future, define what retirement looks like for you, and start with small but concrete actions, even something as straightforward as taking the Retirement Index Quiz to understand your next steps.
Before launching the Retirement Index, InLife had already released a white paper titled Retire Without Worries: Your Roadmap to Living Life to the Fullest, which highlighted how urgent retirement planning has become in the face of rising healthcare costs, longer life expectancy, and shifting family structures that leave many older Filipinos more financially exposed. It also reinforced the idea that government pensions alone are no longer enough. Today, retiring with dignity and independence means planning deliberately and creating lifelong income streams that can support the lifestyle one hopes to keep.
Research shows that only one in three retirees is able to find work after retirement
Rampver Financials Chairman, author, and financial speaker Rex Mendoza pointed out three common misconceptions people have about retirement. The first is assuming they will not live that long, even as life expectancy continues to stretch. The second is thinking they will spend less in retirement, when in reality travel, leisure, and even the joy of spoiling grandchildren can put additional pressure on savings. The third is believing they can simply keep working through consultancy or side businesses, when research shows that only one in three retirees is able to find work after retirement, partly because companies tend to favor younger workers.
In response to these gaps, InLife introduced solutions designed to make retirement feel less like a source of worry and more like a season of assurance. InLife Retire Assure, described as the first true retirement insurance product in the Philippines, moves beyond the usual lump-sum benefit model by providing stable monthly income from age 60 up to age 100, with the added possibility of growth through cash dividends. The idea is to make retirement feel less uncertain and more familiar, almost like continuing to receive a paycheck even after active employment ends, so that people can keep living the lifestyle they have worked hard to build.
The idea is to make retirement feel less uncertain and more familiar, almost like continuing to receive a paycheck even after active employment
The product also encourages a disciplined approach to saving, with payment options spread over five or ten years, or through regular contributions until age 59 or 64. It includes a life insurance component as well, allowing beneficiaries to receive the higher of 110 percent of premiums paid, less any payouts already received, or the guaranteed cash value. Another feature that makes it more accessible is that it does not require stringent medical evaluations, making it easier for more Filipinos to secure a more stable future without adding further financial strain to their families later on.
For professionals in their peak earning years, InLife also introduced Retire Assure 2, designed for those aged 48 to 73. This version can be funded in just two annual installments while still providing lifetime monthly income, helping protect retirement plans from the unpredictability of market swings.
InLife chief product and innovation officer Jose Eduardo O. Ang said one of the most important steps people can take is to know their “magic number,” or the amount they need to prepare in order to live comfortably in retirement. He encouraged Filipinos to work closely with a financial advisor to map out future monthly expenses, and to use tools such as InLife’s retirement calculator to better understand how much they need to set aside today for the kind of life they want tomorrow.
To access the InLife Retire Without Worries research paper, please visit https://bit.ly/RAWhitepaper; the Retirement Readiness Index at https://bit.ly/RAIndex; and the Retirement Calculator at https://bit.ly/RACalculator To know more about Retire Assure, please visit https://www.inlife.com.ph/retire-assure/. To know more about Retire Assure 2, please visit https://bit.ly/InLifeRetireAssure2.
InLife is the first and largest Filipino life insurance company in the country, with over 115 years of uninterrupted service.
They bring more than a century of expertise in financial protection, risk management, savings, and investments to help Filipinos make informed and confident decisions for themselves and their loved ones. With an asset base of over P158.9 billion and a net worth of P44.3 billion, InLife continues to be a trusted name in life insurance.
For more information, visit www.inlife.com.ph.
